Embodiments of the subject matter disclosed herein generally relate to proximity probe systems.
Proximity probe systems are generally used for detecting the position (e.g., displacement) and/or motion (e.g., vibration) of a target object. For example, in various technologies, proximity probes may be used to monitor machines, such as turbines (e.g., gas turbines, wind turbines, steam turbines, etc.), compressors, generators, motors, and others, for out-of-alignment or surface rub conditions. By detecting out-of-alignment or surface rub conditions, the proximity probe system may enable decreased costs and/or downtime associated with repair and/or replacement of parts due to wear.
A proximity probe system may include a proximity probe (e.g., an eddy current probe), an extension cable, and a controller. During manufacturing, each of the components of the proximity probe system may be tested to verify that the error characteristics, such as the gain error (e.g., sensitivity error, incremental scale factor (ISF) error, scaling error), offset error, and/or linearity error (e.g., deviation from best fit straight line (DSL)), of each component are within working standards. However, the actual error characteristics of each component may be unknown by a technician using the components in the field. As a result, the combined error of the components of the proximity probe system, which is hereinafter referred to as interchange error, may be unknown.